I decided to start a buying guide, just because so many people ask me what’s in my kitchen. This series started out life as “The Best (fill-in-the-blank)” but some people are a bit fanatical about the phrase “the best.” Here I’ll just stick to what I have in my kitchen – it’s what works for me. Feel free to tell me what works for you!
I have a confession to make: I am obsessed with waffle irons. I so want to live one of those free and easy minimalist lifestyles where everything I own can fit into one bag, but I have to be honest with myself. My waffle makers alone could possibly (okay, thy do) take up an entire shelf. I have no idea how my waffle make/iron obsession started but it’s definitely fully blown. I can only promise myself that I won’t get any more.
Waffle Stick Maker
I have this Babycakes Waffle Stick Maker. Mike gave it to me for Christmas one year and I absolutely love it. The sticks are perfect for dunking and it’s held up surprisingly well. I don’t know if I would have bought this on my own, but now that I have it, I absolutely love making waffle sticks. Pouring the right amount of batter into each well takes a little getting used to, but once you figure out the right amount (depending on how thick your batter is, I’d say about 1- 1/2 tablespoons) you’ll be popping out the waffle sticks like there’s no tomorrow. It’s one of the simpler waffle makers I have, with a red and a green light to indicate when the iron’s hot and when your waffles are done.
I used it in this post and I absolutely love the shape!
Classic Square Waffle Maker
The Chef’s Choice Classic Square is my all time favorite. It heats up super-quickly, is awesome on the release and has temperature controls. It’s the maker I use the most often. I especially like just putting blobs of batter in to get odd shaped waffles, instead of squares. I’ve successfully used it to make waffled french toast, waffled tofu and rice, and waffled sausages.
Round Belgium Waffle Maker (not pictured)
I found this waffle maker in the back of Mike’s kitchen cupboards when I moved in and it’s served us for well over 5 years. It heats up consistently and I love having an older waffle maker that I can experiment in without worrying about damaging. I’ve made donut waffles in it, regular waffles, all-cheese waffles. This maker is a workhorse in my kitchen and I love it. It’s one of the simpler models with just a single indicator light, but sometimes simple is just what you need. He’s an oldie but a goodie and you can’t buy him anymore, but I had to include him in this round-up.
Bubble Waffle Maker
I absolutely love those little gai dan jai, or egg bubble waffles you get in Hong Kong. They’re made up of tiny, chewy, faintly sweet waffles that are ball-shaped. The are incredibly addictive and when I saw I could make them at home with a bubble waffle iron, I couldn’t resist. This is completely unlike any of my other waffle irons and I only bust this baby out when I’m having parties or feeling like an extra special treat. It’s basically two plates that you heat up separately on the stove top. You pour in your batter, lock one plate into the other and then flip the whole thing over and toast both sides. This bubble waffle maker takes a bit more elbow grease, but I find that the piping hot egg waffles are totally worth it.
And…that’s it. I guess four waffle makers isn’t too extreme. Do you guys own any waffle makers?
I have the waffle stick maker. I thought it would be fun for the grandkids but all they want are Eggos. I also have a Belgium waffle maker but I want the two square one you have. My mom had the classic four square waffle maker. We rarely just had waffles, I guess she found pancakes easier. But every time she cooked a whole turkey, we eventually had waffles and turkey hash. It’s what we got when all that was left was the meat you picked off the bones. I haven’t used the waffle stick maker in a while but I am tempted to try the mac n cheese sticks. They look delicious.